TRIP ALONG THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN BAIKAL: OLKHON ISLAND AND ARSHAN HOT SPRINGS
During the tour you will get acquainted with the famous attractions of Baikal, including Olkhon Island with steppe landscapes resembling Mongolian, Arshan with its hot springs and high mountains, which guests have called the Siberian Alps. In Listvyanka you will plunge into the atmosphere of a small resort town with its pier for local ships, as well as enjoy the wooden architecture of Irkutsk
10 days
May-October
10
Duration
Period
Number of people in group
Tour information
Sights and entertainments:
Rock Shaman, Khoboy, the northernmost cape of the island of Olkhon, national Buryat cuisine, communication with the shaman, hot springs
Detailed program
Day 1
Meeting at airport/railway station.
«us tour of Irkutsk (3 hours)
- Historical center with churches, monument to the founders of the city, Polish Church, Moscow Gate
- Merchant's Zhelyabov street with ancient wooden houses
- The monastery with the graves of the Decembrists (the revolutionaries of the XIXth century), monument to Shelikhov, founder of Russian America
- Lacy house - the most beautiful wooden building of Irkutsk
- Karl Marx Street with late 19th century stone mansions
- Monument to Alexander III, Upper Shore of the Angara river
- Cozy wooden 130 quarter with shops and restaurants
Lunch at the local café
Accommodation in hotel
Free time in the city
Guide will advise which places in the city you may visit
Day 2
Departure to Arshan (205 km from Irkutsk)
NB Arshan is 100 km from the southern part of Baikal
On the way stop for lunch in roadside cafe with amazing views of southern Baikal
The trip through the beautiful Tunka Valley with alpine meadows, cattle and snowy peaks of mountains.
Stop on the border of the Irkutsk region and the Republic of Buryatia, Buddhist Stupa.
On the way to Arshan stop at Bukha Noyon Mount. According to the legend, this is where the main spirit of the area, the Bull, lives, and a trail in the form of a lying bull remained on the mountain. A rite of offering and request for permission to enter the area of spirits, made by local shaman living at the foot of the mountain.
Next you can make a stop in Zun Murino and walk along the picturesque path overlooking the beautiful river valley.
Arrival in Arshan.
Accommodation in hotel
Day 3
Excursion along Arshan Visiting the most beautiful waterfall at the Kyngarga River along the path with coniferous trees. "Bodhidharma" Buddhist temple, where you can communicate with lama astrologers. Walk around Stupa and rest at the Holy Meadow. Arshan is famous for local chebureks and Buuza (dishes of local cuisine, made of dough and meat), and you may try them in local cafes Visit to the stone stream, which went down in the village in 2014.
Day 4
Free time
Arshan is a resort with mineral waters. Those who want to spend time calmly, can go to various treatments - massages, baths, showers, pools
For the fans of active rest there are hiking day excursions to the Three-Headed Mountain, to the Bowl of Virgins, Peak of Love, etc.
Lovers of local traditions can go to the shaman, get acquainted with local traditions.
It is also possible to arrange the trip through the Tunka Valley with visiting old volcanoes, to health resort of Nilova Pustyn, Zhemchug village and to the valley of the Irkut River.
Day 5
Early departure from Arshan.
«oarding to the train in Slyudyanka village. The Circum Baikal Railroad Tour along the southern shore of Baikal.
During the excursion you will see numerous tunnels, through which the railway passes, you will be able to walk through the stations during stops in picturesque and historically significant places, accompanied by the guide.
Arrival at Port Baikal in the evening.
Ferry to the opposite shore to the village of Lisvyanka.
Transfer in hotel.
Accommodation in hotel.
Day 6
Excursion in Lisvyanka (7 hours), located 70 km from Irkutsk
Visit to Baikal Museum, interesting facts about the lake, aquariums with the water inhabitants
- Fish and souvenir market, where you can try the Baikal delicacy - omul
- lunch
- Cable car to Chersky stone of with a viewpoint to Baikal and the source of the Angara river
- Excursion to Taltsy ethnographic museum for learning abouth the life of the Siberian people since the 17th-20th centuries
Accommodation in hotel in Irkutsk
Day 7
Early departure to Olkhon Island (260 km)
On the way stop at the Buryat village of Ust-Ordynsky. Buryats are a small ethnic group, which has lived near Baikal before Russians came.
Zolotaya Orda ethnocomplex
Here you will enjoy Buryat ethnic cultural performance.
Horseman will meet you at the entrance
Reception of guests at the traditional Buryat family, the ritual of purification by fire.
Master class national dishes making
Traditional songs and dances
Joint performance of the Buryat dance - Yohor.
A ritual from the local shaman to protect against spirits while traveling.
Lunch in Ust-Ordynsky village
Departure to the village of Sahyurta (ferry crossing to Olkhon)
Crossing to the island with luggage
On the opposite bank we will be met by local UAZ-vans
Trip to the village of Khuzhir (approximately 36 km) by gravel road.
Arrival in the settlement.
Accommodation in hotel.
Dinner
Walk to the Shamanka rock, sacred place at Baikal, here according to beliefs the main spirit of the lake lives
Day 8
Excursion by Russian cars to the northern part of the island - Cape Khoboy.
NB! The trip by Russian UAZ car along the unasphalted bumpy road
The road to Khoboy is not the best, but the landscapes opening up are worth the off-road kilometers.
The tour takes approximately 8 hours, during which we'll visit the legendary places of Olkhon
- Sandy bay, where the GULAG (Russian prison in Soviet period) used to be located, and today it is a favorite place of rest and beach with unique white sand mixed with the pomegranate colored particles
These places make the heart beat faster, and anyone who has visited them tells about the extraordinary feeling of Baikal 's strongest energy.
Day 9
Water excursion to Ogoy, the largest island at the Small Sea area.
Here the Buddhist Stupa, which the supporters of shamanism did not allow to install on Olkhon, is located.
You 'll see the island and its rocky cliff shores, visit the Silver Source and enjoy the pacifying voyage by ship.
You will also have lunch in one of the local cafes at the mainland.
The tour takes almost the full day.
Return to hotel
Day 10
Transfer to Irkutsk
Departure to ferry crossing by UAZ.
Crossing.
On the opposite bank – boarding to the bus.
Departure to Irkutsk (about 5-6 hours) with stops for lunch in roadside cafes
Price of the tour
Количество человек в группе
Стоимость в рублях, с человека
1
2-5
Более 6
35 000
27 000
24 000
Стоимость в рублях, на человека, при проезде регулярным автотранспор-
том, без гида
том, без гида
20 000
from 1 300 $ per person
Included in cost:
- Guide services (10 days)
- Private car rent services
- Meeting / seeing off to/from the airport
- Accommodation in double / twin rooms in hotels in Irkutsk, Arshan village, Listvyanka, Olkhon
- Shaman services in Tunka Valley
- meals: Breakfasts, Lunches and Dinners
- Excursion in Irkutsk
- Tickets to Taltsy Museum, Baikal Museum, cable car
- Cultural program in Zolotaya Orda ethnic complex (1 hour) (folklore ensemble, master class, meeting with shaman, rite, national lunch)
- Excursions by UAZ to Cape Khoboy
- Voyage to Ogoy Island
- Train tickets for Circum Baikal Railroad
- Guide services (10 days)
- Private car rent services
- Meeting / seeing off to/from the airport
- Accommodation in double / twin rooms in hotels in Irkutsk, Arshan village, Listvyanka, Olkhon
- Shaman services in Tunka Valley
- meals: Breakfasts, Lunches and Dinners
- Excursion in Irkutsk
- Tickets to Taltsy Museum, Baikal Museum, cable car
- Cultural program in Zolotaya Orda ethnic complex (1 hour) (folklore ensemble, master class, meeting with shaman, rite, national lunch)
- Excursions by UAZ to Cape Khoboy
- Voyage to Ogoy Island
- Train tickets for Circum Baikal Railroad
Additional charge:
- lunch on the way to / from Olkhon
- additional excursions
- lunch on the way to / from Olkhon
- additional excursions
Always happy to help you finding the best tour
Tanya Tomitova
Guide and travel agent at Baikal
© Baikal local. 2022
hello@baikal-local.com
+7(950)101-1065
hello@baikal-local.com
+7(950)101-1065
